Janey Howell launched BCB Adventure with a team of five who gained their knowledge of the outdoors and camping market working at her husband's BCB International, Robert Llewellyn Jones writes

On the day Janey Howell launched her new business she never doubted it would be a success.

Although this took place on April Fool’s Day, the joke, she believes, will be on her competitors.

“We launched BCB Adventure with a team of five who gained their knowledge of the outdoors and camping market working at BCB International,” she said.

“Having seen the company move more and more into military protection and survival clothing, I felt that, after 20 years at BCB International, we were neglecting our core market.”

She added: “This is not just camping but the outdoor and adventure pursuits market. I believe everyone, irrespective of age, wants an adventure, hence the company’s name.”

Prior to joining her husband’s Cardiff-based business, Ms Howell had trained as a barrister, before taking up an appointment with a City firm of stockbrokers.

The appointment coincided with the Big Bang in the 1980s and the deregulation of London’s financial markets. It led to significant changes in their structure.

It was at this time, having met her husband-to-be some years previously, that she decided to return to South Wales and join BCB International as its finance director.

Recalling her initial years in the business, she said: “The more I worked here the more interested I became in the products, the markets where they were sold, and that market’s potential.

“It’s taken some time for me to move from being the finance to operational director and now to having my own company and running it in the way I want, with the priorities I see as important.

“One of these is the customer, whether it’s business-to- business, or individual clients, these are the most important people.

“Being a shopper myself, I know exactly how important it is for a product to do what it says on the package and that this can be relied on. All of this is important within an adventure context, where reliance is of paramount importance.”

Her aim is, she explains, to become environmentally friendly not just on paper but through the marketing and packaging strategy her BCB Adventure adopts.

With an air of realism she said: “It won’t happen overnight but we are working towards that. Another key factor in our strategy is that we buy locally.

“If that cannot be done then it will be the UK and, finally, Europe, where we sell extensively. Our customers like our products and the Made in Wales brand.”

On the question of cost, Ms Howell is undeterred.

If made in Wales means these products are slightly more expensive, then the onus is on her sales team to convince customers they are worthwhile items that will last, giving the purchaser value for money in the long-term.

She said: “This is the way markets are moving and I want people to know they may cost more, but this is why we spend time on research and development. I’m lucky in this respect to be able to use BCB International’s expertise.” One of the areas her fledgling company is concentrating on is the music festival market which, she believes, is a growing sector.

“It’s no longer a young person’s preserve, as we saw last year at Glastonbury when the Rolling Stones appeared,” she said.

“It’s now very much a middle class market and there’s a lot of money in festivals. I want to start supplying those who attend them, and we have already made inroads into making festival face paint, which we develop ourselves and which is environmentally friendly.”

And face paint is just one item, as she explained: “We have gone into tent markers which are self-lighting, designed to help people find their tents. They will last up to 10 years.

“In addition to these, there are cleaning products, fire-lighting aids and many more innovative aids designed for the outdoor adventure market, which can be bought through our sales catalogue.”

This is just one aspect of the company’s product range which, when extended to encompass survival equipment for the armed forces cadet market and the scouting movement, make BCB Adventure a potential major player within this sector.

“Those who lead these groups have tried and tested our equipment and know it to be safe and value for money,” Ms Howell said.

She added: “Finally there are those families who enjoy a camping weekend. It’s such an extensive market I feel we can facilitate everyone, whether they are occasional outdoor pursuit types or those who make this their weekend recreation.”

Then she adds a postscript: “Our products have already been used on expeditions to Mount Everest, Kilimanjaro and the Arctic. As a company we are always interested in supporting anyone from Wales, especially young people, engaged in a charity adventure who uses our products.”

She exhibited at Excel, a leading trade show. She had closely analysed what the end users thought of the company’s products. The results of this market research, Ms Howell explained, proved a remarkable success and won her the accolade of Busiest Stand throughout the four-day show.

She said: “We displayed a new product called Fire Dragon, made from sugar beet. It’s so safe to use since it has no flashback, which means that young people can use it with safety.

“The gel compound just needs to be lit and then gives off a clean burn. We took it to a show in Munich and now intend to increase production with the help of the Welsh Government.”

The challenge now is to establish a foothold in emerging European markets such as Poland, Croatia and the Scandinavian countries, all of which are home to outdoor pursuits enthusiasts.

With this in mind BCB Adventure has developed an anti-tick kit for countries where they have a tick problem.

As she explained: “We have a product that can remove the tick and disinfect the skin surrounding it. We are now developing this for Scandinavia and the military here in the UK has expressed an interest.”

Through a well-constructed and meticulously-delivered marketing campaign, BCB Adventure has been able to encourage sales at retail outlets nationwide through customers asking specifically for its products.

Ms Howell said: “What we have done is used both social media and the BCB Adventure website to increase sales, in tandem with our new sales brochure.”

Looking to the future, Ms Howell will focus the company on client contact as a means of expansion.

She said: “Many companies are fine at selling but do not provide backup. So we are introducing new display stands for those retail outlets that take our products.

“Most stores don’t like visits from sales reps, so we contact our customers by e-mail and phone calls and then hit an area with salesmen who will see stores when they want us.

“After all, stores are there to sell and salesmen are a nuisance. So we must create new products and deliver these to the stores who are keen to work with us.”

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